Kansas City homeowner charged after shooting Black teen who rang his doorbell

By: Abigail Weinberg | Mother Jones

Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old, rang the doorbell of the wrong house when he went to pick up his younger brothers from a playdate in Kansas City last week, according to his family. A white man in his 80s came to the door and shot him, according to reporting from CNN.

Yarl was shot twice, including once in the head, but is in stable condition, according to his family. The shooter, who has not been publicly identified, has been released from police custody and is under investigation. He has not been charged. Police Chief Stacey Graves told the Kansas City Star that police need a formal victim statement before they can arrest someone. Yarl has been unable to give a statement because of his injuries. Police confirmed that Yarl was supposed to pick his brothers up from a house on 115th Terrace. Instead, he went to 115th Street.

Related: Donate to Ralph Yarl GoFundMe

Hundreds of protesters marched in Kansas City over the weekend to draw attention to the outlandishly excessive response to a simple error.

NEW: Clay County prosecutor announces he's filed two felony counts against Andrew Lester in the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl

Assault in the first degree
Armed criminal action

A warrant has been issued for Lester's arrest pic.twitter.com/3Mjhtt1Zqq

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 17, 2023

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